Front jaw of safety binding for skis

ABSTRACT

IN THE FRONT JAW OF A SAFETY BINDING FOR SKIS IN WHICH A JAW BODY IS SWINGABLE LATERALLY RELATIVE TO THE SKI FROM AN OPERATIVE POSITION WHERE IT IS YIELDABLY RETAINED AND A PAIR OF DIVERGING HOLDDOWN ARMS PROJECT REARWARDLY FROM THE BODY AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF A CENTRAL SUPPORTING FACE THEREON TO ENGAGE LATERAL AREAS OF THE TOE PORTION OF A SKI BOOT WHEN THE TOE END OF ITS SOLE ABUTS SUCH FACE, THE HOLDDOWN ARMS ARE IN THE FORM OF A RIGID UNIT RELEASABLY SECURED WITH RESPECT TO THE JAW BODY, AS BY A SCREW AND SLOT CONNECTION, TO PERMIT ADJUSTMENT OF SUCH RIGID UNIT FORWARDLY AND REARWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO THE JAW BODY AND THE SUPPORTING FACE THEREON. PREFERABLY, THE RIGID ARM UNIT IS CONNECTED TO THE JAW BODY BY WAY OF AN INTERMEDIATE MEMBER PRESENTING THE CENTRAL SUPPORTING FACE AND BEING VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE ON THE JAW BODY.

March. 2, 1971 BRUNNER 3,567,238

FRONT JAW OF SAFETY BINDING FOR SKIS l Filed March 19, 1969 v 24 1 30461.2 32 a1. 21. 2s a 1.2 s

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RUDOLF B/PU/V/VER United States Patent 3,567,238 FRONT JAW OF SAFETY BINDING FOR SKIS Rudolf Brunner, Munich, Germany (23 Wankstrasse, 8011 Baldham, Germany) Filed Mar. 19, 1969, Ser. No. 808,545 Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 27, 1968, P 17 03 068.1 Int. Cl. A630 9/00 U.S. Cl. 280-1135 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the front jaw of a safety binding for skis in which a jaw body is swingable laterally relative to the ski from an operative position where it is yieldably retained and a pair of diverging holddown arms project rearwardly from the body at opposite sides of a central supporting face thereon to engage lateral areas of the toe portion of a ski boot when the toe end of its sole abuts such face;

This invention relates generally to ski bindings, and more particularly is directed to improvements in the front jaws of safety bindings for skis.

In an existing safety binding, the front jaw comprises a jaw body swingable laterally, as about a pivot secured to the ski, from an operative position where it is yieldably retained, as by a resilient latch, and a pair of diverging holddown arms projecting rearwardly from the body at opposite sides of a central supporting face is provided at the rear of the jaw body to engage lateral areas of the toe portion of a ski boot when the front end of its sole abuts the central supporting face. When a force exceeding a predetermined value acts at one or the other of the lateral areas of engagement of the boot toe portion with the holddown arms, the latch retaining the jaw body in its operative position yields to permit lateral swinging of the body by such force with the result that the boot is released from the binding to avoid serious injury.

The front jaw as described above may be referred to as being of the single joint type, in that the holddown arms are fixed relative to the jaw body and the only pivot axis is that about which the jaw body can swing relative to the ski. The front jaw of the single joint type, as aforesaid, is to be distinguished from other existing types of front jaws in which a boot clamping member is pivotable relative to the body of the jaw and the body is, in turn, pivotable about a bearing bolt securely attached to the ski, with a resiliently engaged latch means being provided between the boot clamping member and the jaw body.

In order to render a single joint front ja-w adaptable to different kinds and sizes of boots provision must be made for adjusting the angle enclosed by lines extending between the lateral areas of engagement of the boot by the holddown arms and the contact with the central supporting face.

'In the prior art, this angular adjustment has been effected either by providing holddown arms which are attachable to the jaw body at different angles with respect to the central supporting face or by providing a central supporting face which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the jaw body. In both cases the angle of displacement of the jaw body from its operative position at which the boot is released from the jaw is unduly influenced by the kind and the size of the particular boot.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a single joint front jaw that avoids the above disadvantages of existing front jaws and in which a constant angle is maintained between the holddown arms and the central supporting face is fixed relative to the longitudinal direction of the jaw body.

It is another object of this invention to provide a single joint front jaw with which the clamping arrangement provided by the central supporting face and the lateral areas of engagement of the holddown arms is influenced only slightly by the adjustment of the jaw to boots of different kind and size.

Still another object is to provide for adaption to different boots by a simple, strong, and compact structure.

An additional object is to provide also for adjustment of the level of the holddown arms with respect to the jaw body.

A further object of this invention is to provide for easy manipulation of the adjusting means by affording ready access thereto from the outside and from above.

A still further object of this invention is to provide for effective sealing of the jaw body while permitting the necessary adjustments of the holddown arms relative thereto.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a front jaw of the single joint type has its holddown arms integral with each other to provide a rigid unit which is secured with respect to the jaw body, as by a screw and slot connection, to permit adjustment of such rigid unit in the longitudinal direction of the jaw body relative to the central supporting face provided on the latter.

It is a feature of a preferred embodiment of the invention, to connect the rigid unit, constituted by the holddown arms, with the jaw body by way of an intermediate member having the central supporting face thereof and which is Vertically adjustable to a certain extent on the jaw body.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent in the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the front jaw of a safety binding for skis according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line IIII on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, but illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line IVIV on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line VV on FIG. 2, and with a portion of a connecting member being further broken away; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, it will be seen that the invention is there shown applied to a front jaw 1 of a safety binding for skis, which front jaw 1 is of the type comprising a mounting plate 5 having laterally projecting ears 3 with holes 3a (FIG. 4) therein to receive screws 2 (FIG. 1) by which the mounting plate may be securely attached on the upper surface of a ski (not shown). A fixed bearing bolt 4 extends upwardly from the center of mounting plate 5 to define a pivoting axis normal to the upper surface of the ski, and a jaw body 6 in the form of a hollow housing is mounted on bearing bolt 4 so as to be laterally swingable about the axis defined by the latter. Within the hollow interior of body 6, bearing bolt 4 is formed with a bore 7 extending diametrically therethrough and slidably receiving a sleeve member 8 which is open at one end and contains a helical spring 8a urging a ball 9 to project from the open end of the sleeve member. Suitably secured within the hollow interior of jaw body 6 is a cam member 11 having a generally V-shaped cam surface against which ball 9 is urged by spring 8a (FIG. 4). With bore 7 arranged in pivot bolt 4 so that the axis of sleeve member 8 will extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ski on which front jaw 1 is mounted, the spring latch constituted by spring urged ball 9 and cam surface 10 functions to yieldably retain body 6 in an operative position where the longitudinal axis of such body extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ski and has one of its ends, that is, the end of body 6 appearing at the left in each of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, directed rearwardly. It will be apparent that a laterally directed force applied tot he rearwardly directed end of body 6, and which is of sufiicient magnitude to overcome the force of spring Set, will be effective to laterally swing body 6 from the aforementioned operative position thereof.

In order to predetermine the magnitude of the laterally directed force that will be sufficient to effect lateral swinging of body 6 from its operative position, sleeve member 8 is longitudinally adjusted in bore 7 for varying the magnitude of the force exerted on ball 9 by spring 8a. In the embodiment shown, longitudinal adjustment of sleeve member 8 is effected by a rotary adjusting member 24 turnable in an axial bore 4a formed in pivot bolt 4 above diametrical bore 7. Adjusting member 24 has a slotted head 24a which projects through the top of body 6 so as to be accessible for turning by a screwdriver or other tool from the exterior of the jaw body. The lower end of adjusting member 24 has an eccentric 24b pro jecting therefrom and being slidably received in a laterally directed slot formed in the top of sleeve 8 so that turning of adjusting member 24 will effect longitudinal movement of the sleeve member. In order to ensure that the mentioned lateral slot of sleeve member 8 receiving the eccentric 24b remains at the top of the sleeve member, turning of the latter about its longitudinal axis may be prevented by forming the opposed sides of the open end portion of sleeve member 8 with longitudinal slots 8b (FIGS. 2 and 4) into which cam member 11 extends. In order to prevent inadvertent rotation of adjusting member 24, and thereby to retain sleeve member 8 in its adjusted position, adjusting member 24 may be formed with an annular groove 24c receiving detent balls 26 (FIG. 2) which extend partly into radial holes provided in pivot bolt 4 opposite groove 240 (FIG. 2).

Provided at the rearwardly directed end of jaw body 6 is a central supporting face 12 lying in a laterally directed vertical plane, and holddown arms 14 diverge rearwardly from body 6 at opposite sides of face 12 and at a level below which face 12 extends so that, when the toe end of the sole of a ski boot abuts against supporting face 12, the boot is centralized and the sole of the boot is held down upon the ski by means of arms 14 which provide lateral areas of engagement with the boot.

The above described front jaw 1 may be referred to as being of the single joint type in that the only pivot axis therefor is provided by bolt 4 about which body 6 is laterally swingable.

In accordance with the present invention, arms 14 are formed as integral parts of a holddown member 16 and are in fixed angular relation to each other. In the embodiment being here described, the holddown member is in the form of a flat piece and, in addition to arms 14, includes an extension 34 that is centrally located with respect to arms 14 and directed generally in opposition to the latter. Extension 34 is formed with parallel, rectilinear side edges 35 (FIG. 5) and with an arcuately concave end edge 36. Further, in accordance with this invention, holddown member 16 is fixed relative to body 6 by securing means, as hereinafter described in detail, which permit adjustment of holddown member 16 relative to body 6 in the fore and aft direction, that is, parallel to the direc- 4 tion from the pivoting axis of body 6 to the rearwardly directed end of the latter, as indicated by the doubleheaded arrow 40 on FIG. 5, whereby to vary the extent of the rearward projection of arm 14 beyond central supporting face 12.

Preferably, as shown, holddown member 16 is fixed relative to body 6 through an intermediate member 18 on which the central supporting face 12 is formed, and the assembly of holddown member 16 and intermediate member 18 is mounted on body 6 so as to be vertically adjustable relative to the latter, that is, adjustable in the direction parallel to the pivoting axis of body 6, whereby to vary the level of arms 14.

In the embodiment shown, the rearwardly directed end of hollow body 6 has an opening (FIG. 2) extending thereacross at a location spaced upwardly from the bottom of body 6, and intermediate member 18 is vertically dimensioned to extend over such opening 30 at all vertically adjusted positions of the assembly constituted by members 16 and 18. The attachment of intermediate member 18 to body 6 is achieved by means of screws 22 extending through vertically elongated slots 22a in intermediate member 18 and screwed into tapped holes provided in the rearwardly directed end of body 6 below opening 30 (FIG. 4). Thus, adjustment of intermediate member 18 vertically relative to body 6 is made possible by the vertical elongation of slots 22a when screws 22 are loosened. In order to prevent vertical shifting of intermediate member 18 relative to body 6 when screws 22 have been tightened, the rearwardly directed end of body 6 below opening 30 and the forwardly directed, confronting surface of intermediate member 18 are formed with interengageable serrations 20 (FIG. 2).

The upper portion of intermediate member 18 is formed with a forwardly directed projection 32 extending through opening 30 of body 6 and being vertically displaceable within such opening at a level above sleeve 8 of the spring latch. The intermediate member 18 further has a laterally elongated opening 18a (FIG. 2) through which extension 34 of holddown member 16 extends in a forward direction and such opening 18a registers with a channel formed in the underside of projection 32 and which is laterally dimensioned so that the sides 38 of the channel (FIG. 5) will be slidably engaged by, and thereby longitudinally guide, the parallel side edges of extension 34.

In order to releasably secure holddown member 16 to intermediate member 18 and to permit adjustment of the holddown member relative to body 6 in the direction of the double-headed arrow 40 on FIG. 5, there is provided a screw and slot connection between projection 32 and extension 34. For example, as shown, such connection may be constituted by a screw 44 received in a hole 46 in projection 32 and extending vertically downward through an elongated slot 42 in extension 34 into engagement with a nut 48 underlying extension 4. It will be apparent that when screw 44 is tightened, holddown member 16 and intermediate member 18 are fixedly connected to each other and, if desired, the upper surface of nut 48 may be knurled in order to improve the resistance to relative displacement of members 16 and 18. Further, hole 46 may be located in projection 32 so that nut 48 on screw 44 will be disposed with one of its fiat sides engaging against the forwardly directed surface of member 18 (FIG. 2) whereby to prevent turning of nut 48 when screw 44 is being either loosened or tightened. It will be apparent that, when screw 44 is loosened, the elongation of slot 42 permits displacement of holddown member 16 relative to intermediate member 18 in the direction of arrow 40 on FIG. 5, and thereby makes possible variation of the extent of the rearward projection of diverging arms 14 beyond central supporting face 12.

In the above described embodiment, the head of screw 44 is enclosed within body 6 when the assembly of holddown member 16 and intermediate member 18 is mounted on jaw body 6, and this has the advantage of preventing the erroneous loosening of arms 14 by the inadvertent manipulation of screw 44 and also prevents the collection of ice or dirt in the head slot of screw 44. When it is desired to adjust the position of arms 14 relative to face 12, screws 22 are removed to disconnect the assembly of holddown member 16 and intermediate member 18 from body 6, whereupon screw 44 is accessible to be loosened and then retightened after the desired relative adjustment of members 16 and 18. Finally, the adjusted assembly of members 16 and 18 is again mounted on body 6.

If it is desired to permit adjustment of holddown member 16 relative to body "6 while the assembly of members 16 and 18 is secured on body 6, use can be made of the embodiment of FIG. 3, wherein those parts of the front jaw corresponding to parts of the previously described embodiment are identified by the same reference numerals. In the embodiment of FIG. 3', the adjustable connection of holddown member 16 to intermediate member 18 is effected by a screw 52 which extends through an inclined bore in member 18 so that the screw head 50 is disposed at the portion of member 18 outside of body 6 and is accessible from above holddown member 16. The inclined screw 52 extends downwardly and forwardly through slot 42 in the extension 34 of holddown member 16 and below the latter is threadably engaged in a similarly inclined, tapped bore 56 provided in a nut 58 which may have a knurled upper surface for secure engagement with the underside of extension 34.

Although each of the described embodiments adjustably connects members 16 and 18 by means of a screw 42 or 52 that is fixedly positioned with respect to the intermediate member 18 and received in a slot 42 provided in the holddown member 16, it will be apparent that the alternative to such arrangement can also be used, that is, the screw may extend through an elongated slot in the intermediate member 18 and engage in a tapped bore in the holddown member 16.

With the above described embodiments, the assembly of holdodwn member 16 and intermediate member 18 is vertically adjusted with respect to body 6 so that the flat, rearwardly diverging arms 14 will be at level suitable to engage over a boot sole when the toe end of the latter abuts face 12. Further, holddown member 16 is adjusted relative to intermediate member 18, and hence relative to face 12 at the rearwardly directed end of body 6, so that with the toe end of the boot sole abutting face 12,

the inner edges 14a of arms 14 will extend inwardly over,

the sole into engagement with lateral areas of the boot cap. It will be apparent that adjustment of holddown member 16 relative to body 6 in the direction of doubleheaded arrow 40 on FIG. 5, will vary the angle enclosed by lines extending from the lateral areas of engagement, that is, from the points where edges 14a of arms 14 are tangential to the boot cap engaged thereby, to the center of face 12 at which the toe end of the sole abuts and, thereby, will vary the angle through which body 6 has to swing laterally about bolt 4 in order to release the boot from the front jaw of the ski binding. Thus, the simple adjustment of the position of holddown member 16 relative to body 6 serves to adapt the front jaw 1 to use with ski boots of various sizes and toe configurations while ensuring that predetermined forces tending to twist the ski laterally relative to the boot will cause release of the boot from the front jaw and thereby avoid serious injury to the skier.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be seen that a front jaw 101, which is otherwise similar to the front jaw 1 of FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, has a holddown member 116 with rearwardly diverging arms 114 as integral parts thereof, as in the case of the arms 14 of holddown member 16, but such arms 114 have depending flanges 118 along their outer edges. With the embodiment of FIG. 6, holddown member 116 is longitudinally adjusted 'with respect to body 106, as previously described, so that, when the toe end of a boot sole 122 abuts the central supporting face 112 at the rearwardly directed end of body 106, as at 120, flanges 118 of arms 114 will effect abutting engagement with lateral areas of the sole edge and arms 114 will extend over the sole merely to hold the latter down on the ski. Thus, in this case, binding is effected at the lateral areas and at the toe end of the boot sole.

It will be appreciated that, in all of the described embodiments of the invention, the necessary adjustments of holddown arms 14 or 114 are made possible with structures that effectively seal the interior of body 6 or 106 against the entry of dirt or ice therein so as to ensure the reliable operation of the spring latch contained in the jaw body. Further, since the arms 14 or 114 are integral parts of a one-piece holddown member, such arms cannot be angularly displaced relative to each other by forces acting on the binding during skiing. Thus, the adjustment of the holddown member 16 or 116 relative to the jaw body, once made, is reliably retained to provide for release of the binding only upon the occurrence of excessive forces.

Although illustrative embodiments of this invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a front jaw of a safety binding for skis of the type in which said jaw comprises a body, means for mounting said body on a ski and permitting lateral swinging of said body about an axis which is normal to the upper surface of the ski and spaced substantially from one end of said body, means to yieldably resist lateral swinging of said body from an operative position in which said one end is directed rearwardly, means defining a central supporting face at said one end of the body and a pair of holddown arms diverging rearwardly from said one end of the body at opposite sides of said central supporting face and adapted to provide lateral areas of engagement with a ski boot when the toe end thereof abuts said face; said holddown arms being integral parts of a rigid holddown member and being arranged in fixed angular relation to each other, and releasable securing means being provided to fix said holddown member relative to said body and permitting adjustment of said holddown member relative to said body parallel to the direction from said axis to said one end of the body, whereby to vary the extent of the projection of said arms beyond said face.

2. A front jaw according to claim 1, in which said means defining the central supporting face includes an intermediate member at said one end of the body and means attaching said intermediate member to said body and permitting adjustment of said intermediate member relative to said body in the direction of said axis, and in which said securing means connects said holddown member to said intermediate member so that the level of said arms can be varied by said adjustment of the intermediate member.

3. A front jaw according to claim 1, in which said central supporting face lies in a plane parallel to said axis and said arms of the holddown member lie in a plane perpendicular to said axis and below which said face extends so that said arms can extend over the sole of a ski boot to provide said lateral areas of engagement at the cap of the boot while the abutment with said face is at the toe end of the sole.

4. A front jaw according to claim 3, in which said means defining the central supporting face includes an intermediate member at said one end of the body and means attaching said intermediate member to said body and permitting adjustment of said intermediate member relative to said body in the direction of said axis, and in which said securing means connects said holddown member to said intermediate member so that the level of said arm can be varied by said adjustment of the intermediate member.

5. A front jaw according to claim 1, in which said central supporting face lies in a plane parallel to said axis so as to be abutted by the sole of a ski boot at said toe end of the latter, said arms have portions thereof in a plane perpendicular to said axis and below which said face extends so that said portions of the arms can extend over the sole, and said arms further have flange portions depending from the outer edges of the first mentioned portions of the arms to provide said lateral areas of engagement at the edge surface of the sole.

6. A front jaw according to claim 5, in which said means defining the central supporting face includes an intermediate member at said one end of the body and means attaching said intermediate member to said body and permitting adjustment of said intermediate member relative to said body in the direction of said axis, and in which said securing means connects said holddown member to said intermediate member so that the level of said arms can be varied by said adjustment of the intermediate member.

7. A front jaw according to claim 1, in which said securing means includes a screw and slot connection with said slot thereof being elongated parallel to said direction from the axis to said one end of the body.

8. A front jaw according to claim 7, in which said means defining the central supporting face includes an intermediate member at said one end of the body and releasable means to attach said intermediate member to said body and permitting adjustment of said intermediate member relative to said body in the direction of said axis, and in which said screw and slot connection secures said holddown member to said intermediate member so that the level of said arms is changed upon said adjustment of the intermediate member relative to said body.

9. A front jaw according to claim 8, in which said body has an opening at said one end thereof, said holddown member has a forwardly directed extension that is centered with respect to said arms, and said intermediate member has a forwardly directed projection extending into said body through said opening of the latter and constituting a guide slidably receiving said extension of the holddown member.

10. A front jaw according to claim 9, in which said intermediate member extends across and closes said opening at the outside of the latter in all positions of said adjustment of the intermediate member relative to said body.

11. A front jaw according to claim 10, in which said intermediate member has an opening above said face extending therethrough and communicating with said guide, and said extension of the holddown member extends through said opening of the intermediate member and into engagement with said guide.

12. A front jaw according to claim 11, in which said screw of the screw and slot connection passes downwardly through said projection of the intermediate member so as to be enclosed within said 'body when said holddown member and intermediate member are attached to said body.

13. A front jaw according to claim 11, in which said screw of the screw and slot connection is inclined downwardly and forwardly through said intermediate member so as to have the head of said screw disposed outside of said body above said holdown member.

14. A front jaw according to claim 8, in Which said means to yieldably resist lateral swinging of said body from the operative position thereof includes spring latch means disposed within said body, and said projection of the intermediate member and said extension of the holddown member project into said body above said spring latch means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,105,696 10/1963 Rehacek 280-1135 3,194,574 7/1965 Beyl 28011.35

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,225,426 2/1960 France 280-1135 LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner R. R. SONG, Assistant Examiner 

